Chapter 1:

She had never been more nervous; not in her previous life, and not in this one. The Powers had told her that she was to help someone who was going to be important. She knew, from talking to ones who had gone before, that it was a very, very special assignment, and she was shaking in her...well, she didn't wear shoes anymore.

She paced slowly forward, the silver bells braided into her mane and tail twinkling merrily and her hooves muffled as they set down in the dirt. She was hoping for a boy...for another chance to...she immediately stopped that thought. Her life had served a purpose, and her choices had provided their world with a powerful defender. It didn't stop her from feeling the crushing sadness of it all, though.

As she passed a small group of children something pulled her attention to the one standing in the middle. Slight, dark hair framing pale blue eyes and an angular face, he was perhaps ten. He seemed to be getting ready to be in the middle of an altercation when his eyes rose and met hers.

Oneness, a sense of becoming whole. The world fell away until all she could see was his eyes boring into hers. What's more, all her doubts fell away in the face of his need to be reassured and comforted. He was afraid, and oh so lonely.

"It's ok, child. I Choose you. My name is Tera, and you will never be alone again."

The boy walked, trance-like, up to her and she let her head down so that they were eye to eye. "My name is Rolan, Lady. I'm nobody special; I think you have made a mistake."

She nickered at him softly and nudged him toward her saddle with her nose. "Companions don't make mistakes, child. Not when we Choose. Now hurry up and get up here before those other boys decide to come after whatever it is you took."

Startled at her perception as much as by the fact that she wasn't berating him for doing something immoral, he complied. "I don't know much about riding horses, Lady."

She shook her head and laughed in his. "I'm not a horse, child, and would you stop calling me Lady? I told you my name, did I not?"

"Aye, and I told you mine, but you still call me child."

She started to move briskly back toward the city and laughed to herself. This child would be an interesting one to be around.

§ § §

As they approached Haven, Rolan spoke up again. "Where are we going?"

"To the palace. We have to meet with a special lady who will help you get settled."

"Why are people so happy to see us? I don't know any of them." The poor child sounded genuinely confused.

"Well, the Choosing of a new Herald is always a cause for celebration. There aren't that many around, you know."

"I thought they were everywhere. They seem to be, anyway."

"No, that's just how we make all this work. People have to think that there's always a Herald around the corner. It helps them feel safe and less like causing trouble."

He thought about that for a minute, putting far more actual thought into it than she would have expected from someone his age. "I can see how that would be true. I know at home people don't really expect to see Heralds very often, so they tend to be more...aggressive in their dealings with other people."

Startled by his grasp of the situation, she almost missed the man standing at the gate. It was his gentle hand on her reins that brought her back to her senses.

"Tera, right?" The guard didn't seem to find it odd that he was speaking to a horse, but then, he was stationed at the palace. "She's waiting for you at the stable. Go on and don't keep her waiting."

She rubbed her nose on his arm for a second before moving on, setting a newly brisk pace toward a lovely building set against a rolling green backdrop.

Standing in front of the building was a small woman with grey-streaked hair and a very odd uniform. It seemed to be a cross between a priestess's robes and a set of Herald's whites.

"Well hello, young one, we've been waiting for you for some time now."

He blanched at the thought of strangers waiting for him, and started to splutter an apology, but she interrupted him.

"No worries, young man. You just slide off of Tera and let me get you situated. You'll be back with her again before you know it."

"Um...did you just read my mind?" He asked as he did as she instructed.

She had a beautiful laugh. "No, I just have done this a time or two. My name's Talia."

"I...I'm Rolan."

Eyebrows raised clear into her hairline, she smiled slowly. "Is that right?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was named after...somebody important, but I can't remember who."

Her smile grew a little wider and she got a mischievous look in her eyes as a muscled companion came to stand behind her and laid his head on her shoulder; staring straight at the boy. "This is the Queen's Own Companion; MY companion. His name is Rolan and he has been around a very long time."

"H...hello?" He squeaked.

The very large companion paced solemnly forward and nudged the boy in the chest, knocking him back against Tera and making Talia laugh. "He's just teasing you, child. He wouldn't hurt you for the world."

Not sure he was comforted by the thought, he simply stood there and waited for more instruction.

She smiled again, and ushered him away from the stable, Tera pacing behind him.

Suddenly, another companion, with a grey-clad rider came to a thundering stop in front of the little party.

"This the new recruit?" A husky voice asked.

"Yes, Kero, this is him."

Rolan completely missed the exchange, though, because something was happening between the new companion and Tera. He didn't know if he needed to be afraid, or warn Talia, but he knew he should keep aware.

"Hello, Treesa."

"Gods, Savil?! How did you know it was me?"

The strange companion made a noise that just HAD to be a laugh. "Van told me, of course.

"It's Sayvil, here, Treesa, and you're Tera. You can't go giving all our secrets away by calling us by our Herald names."

"I know, I was just so shocked. I didn't expect to hear your voice after all these years."

Rolan walked over to her and placed a hand on her neck. "Are you ok, Tera?"

Startled by the question, she opened the channel back up between them and made her mindvoice sound cheerful. "Of course, I'm all right. I'm simply catching up with an old friend." She nudged him toward Talia and tossed her head. "You go with her. I'll see you soon. Horsemanship classes are now part of your daily routine."

"If you're sure, Lady," he said with a smirk.

"Yes, child." Tera laughed at him and shoved him a little harder.

Kero swung down off of her Companion and set a light, calloused hand on his shoulder. "I'll watch out for her, Boy. I'm the weaponsmaster here; nothing will get to her, I promise." She smiled at him and handed him over to the patiently waiting Queen's Own. "Go on, now, you've got a million things to do, and this lady is very busy."

Walking slowly, he looked back the whole way until they had stepped through the door.

"That's a good one, there, I think." Kero commented. She patted Sayvil's neck and walked over to the fence. "I think I'm going to just stand here and watch the babies play while you two continue to chat," and turned her back to the two.

"I didn't know you had made the transition."

"Well of course," The dry voice continued. "I protected this place as a Herald, and now I'll do it as a Companion. Probably make the transition a couple more times if they let me before I let myself rest." The Companion nickered in a chuckle and her Chosen, Kero, looked at Tera and let her lid drop in a slow wink; indicating that she was part of the conversation, if a silent part.

"Sav...Sayvil?" Tera's mindvoice was hesitant and soft. She didn't know if she could handle the answer to what she wanted to ask, but she knew she had to ask it.

"Ahh, Tera, you know he isn't. Van prefers to be...less constrained by rules than we Companions are." She chuckled. "Though his freedoms have been curtailed a little since the last disaster."

Tera perked up a little and prepared to ask her sister-in-law a barrage of questions about Vanyel, but was interrupted.

"You can't dwell on him right now, Tera. You have a job to do, the same as the rest of us. Companions remember who we are so we can take the knowledge from our lives and use it to help the children we Choose, not so we can continue familial relationships, or worse, feuds. I know the circumstances behind your being given this opportunity, and you know it was a special dispensation since only Heralds are typically given the option. I bet you didn't know Van intervened on your behalf, though. Don't make his choice be the wrong one, Tera. Know that he loves you even now, and let it go."

Getting angry, she snorted and her mindvoice rose a notch. "He was my SON, you old..."

She had forgotten who she was talking to. "I loved that boy more than you would believe, woman!" Sayvil shouted. "While you and Withen were being selfish and stupid, I'M the one you sent him to. I'M the one who was here when Tylendel died and he was Chosen. I'M the one who nursed him, fought for him, and taught him." She quieted. "I'm the one who watched him sacrifice himself to save the rest of us, Treesa. That boy was just as much my son as yours. He still is, even though I think he far surpasses either of us."

Showing some of her inexperience, and a little of her human personality, Tera whined. "But he visits you. Or at least speaks to you."

Sayvil took a heaving breath and counted to ten; reminding herself that dealing with Treesa had always been a bit of a challenge, and making Kero laugh at her mental cursing. "Tera, my Chosen is a fully grown, Shin'a'in trained, mage-befriended and lifebonded-to-a-Herald ex mercenary turned Herald. She is unique, and more than capable of sharing this secret with us. However, yours is just a boy. A potentially very powerful boy, but a boy still, and your bond is not fully formed yet. There is no way you would be able to keep a visit from Herald Mage Vanyel Ashkevron, dead now for a very long time, from him. Even if you tried, he would sense the falsehoods in your mind, and it would destroy the trust vital to the Companion/Herald bond."

Nose touching the ground, Tera simply stood silent for a minute, absorbing all she'd been told. "You're right, Sayvil." Her head came up and some of the light returned to her eyes. "I have a new responsibility now, and a chance to be better; to do better for Rolan than I could do for Van. I hope I have learned enough, and gained enough wisdom to see this through to the end."

"I'm sure you will do your best, Tera. Van believes in you, and he's rarely wrong." Sayvil decided to leave it at that and walked over to Kero; standing with her and watching the young Companions.

Tera knew they were giving her a chance to decide which direction she was going to go, and she suspected that Kero was comforting Sayvil as well. She truly hadn't meant to dredge up such horrible memories.

"Well," she said to herself. "I guess it's time to present myself to the trainers and find out what Rolan and I are going to be doing in classes."

"You. Tera. Wait."

The mindvoice was deep, and a little stilted, like he didn't use it much. She raised her head the rest of the way to meet the eyes of the other Rolan, the Queen's Own Companion.

"I want to speak with you."